Jon Favreau Can’t Imagine Iron Man Without Downey Jr

As the man who directed the first Iron Man movie, Jon Favreau’s influence over the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' can’t be understated.

Casting Robert Downey Jr. in the lead was a stroke of genius, the actor taking centre stage in five Marvel movies so far, with another coming this summer in the shape of Captain America: Civil War. But Downey can’t play Tony Stark for ever, so we asked Favreau if he thinks the studio could make an Iron Man movie without him.

“I can’t imagine how they could but that doesn’t mean that they can’t. I just can’t wrap my head around that one" came the response.

“To me he’s the one element that has unified all of it, and I think kept a consistent tone, and the integrity of his acting ability and his talent really works wonderfully synergistically with the Marvel universe.

“I think that his personality is something which helps define it. That being said, nothing would surprise me, but for me it would be a hard pill to swallow and big shoes to fill.”

Downey will play some part in Avengers: Infinity War but beyond that his Marvel future is unclear. So would you like to see another actor play Tony Stark when he does relinquish the role, or do you think they should simply retire the character? Let us know in the comments below.

Exit Theatre Mode

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and still wants to see Tom Cruise play Tony Stark. He can be found talking nonsense on The Superhero Show and Twitter.